The present invention relates to novel containers for holding, dispensing and using a plurality of conventional crushable ampules comprising liquid-filled, breakable glass capsules, such as prep swab ampules containing tincture of iodine or similar antiseptic medication, or containing resin-curing catalyst or any other flowable liquid which is isolated within a sealed breakable vial against contamination, evaporation or other effects of exposure.
Conventional prep swab ampules comprise an interior breakable sealed glass capsule containing the flowable liquid, such as iodine, an outer protective sheath or vial of thin flexible plastic film, such as polyvinyl chloride or cellulose acetate, which is sealed at one end and closed or capped at the other end by a liquid-permeable swab tip similar to a cigarette filter. The purpose of the sheath is to permit compression between the fingers to break the glass capsule and release the liquid while protecting the fingers against being cut by the broken glass, and to contain the released liquid so that it can only be released through the permeable swab tip for application to a desired surface, such as the skin.
In the medical field, such ampules are generally purchased in bulk quantities, and numbers of such individual ampules, with exposed swab tips, may be carried by nurses, doctors or other medical technicians in pockets, hands or on trays where they are exposed to contamination and premature breakage. Also, it is possible for such frequent users to be cut on the fingers while breaking and/or using the glass ampules because the glass is very thin and sharp and since the protective plastic sheath or vial is also thin, much softer than glass and susceptible to cracking and/or being cut and pierced by the broken glass. Moreover, since the ampules are small, usually less than two inches long and about one-quarter inch in diameter, they are difficult for some users to hold between the fingers during end use, and such use requires the fingers of the user to be brought into close proximity with the surface being treated. This is particularly dangerous in cases where the user's fingers may have been cut by the broken capsule and the surface being treated is an open wound or catherer entry site.